<p>If a student appiles EA, when would they be notified about merit awards? Are OOS students considered on the same basis as IS for the Laurels Scholarships? What stats are typical for full tuition awards?</p>
<p>Hey MomPhD-
I am applying EA to UNCA. I emailed the dean about the scholarship information. EA students are notified on or around 12/15, I think merit awards are included with the acceptance package. OOS and IS are considered equally for the Laurel scholarship. You must have a 3.7 GPA, be in the top 10% of the class, and have a 1260 sat. I imagine that to be considered for a full tuition award, stats must be even higher, with a unique talent or EC included. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>If Laurels notifications went out with admissions packets, then DS is out of luck. He didn’t receive any scholarship notification with his admissions packet. However, he has been admitted to the Honors Program – go figure!</p>
<p>When I emailed a very nice guy in admissions, he said notifications would be sent out in late January (i.e., around now) – but they would simply tell you whether you qualify for a Laurels interview (held in Feb., I believe). The interview determines whether you get a Laurels, and the size thereof.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the NON-full-ride scholarships range only from $1,000 to $4,000. I wouldn’t mind something between $4K and full ride…every little bit helps!</p>
<p>My OOS son applied EA and was accepted in December but just received his Laurels scholarship letter yesterday. Since he’s OOS, no interview. He has to write a 350-500 word essay to a prompt and fill out an info sheet detailing awards and extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Ruh-roh!! We haven’t received anything, although DS is NMSF. And we are in-state. This is starting to get depressing. 
:(</p>
<p>Still nothing in the mail from UNCA re Laurels. I emailed DS’s admissions counselor in a panic, asking whether in-state letters had gone out yet–he (the admissions counselor) must think I am a total idiot. Perhaps he’ll figure, “We can’t give a scholarship to the son of this crazy helicopter mom,” LOL!!</p>
<p>I know it’s always darkest before the dawn and all that, but this has been a bad week. Apparently no merit money from UNC Chapel Hill…and now this. Probably, it’s just a case of the OOS letters going out first, since they do not involve interviews…they would be a separate bunch of letters. Anyway, I hope the adcom doesn’t think I’m a complete loony-tune.</p>
<p>In the meantime, maybe DS will find out this week that he has made National Merit Finalist. That would make up for everything.</p>
<p>Well, kinda=sorta.</p>
<p>I should count my blessings that DS has been admitted everywhere he has applied so far. It’s just that pesky little thing about paying for it…that’s my only concern! ;-)</p>
<p>Has anyone not received an invite who was anticipating one? We are OOS, but haven’t gotten anything yet. Given it took almost 3 1/2 weeks for my son’s acceptance packet to arrive, do you think he would be out of line calling to inquire about the letter?</p>
<p>Could anyone who did receive an invite give some basic stats? My son has a 3.9/34 ACT and we felt like he had a shot. Still hoping…</p>
<p>jcc – did the acceptance packet really take 3-1/2 weeks to arrive? That gives me hope! Maybe they’re sending Laurels letters by carrier pigeon this year. :)</p>
<p>The admissions assistant (turns out he’s not an adcom) did get back to me. He said the Laurels letters went out the 22nd, and it’s “very competitive” this year. I guess they’re beating National Merit scholars off with a stick, LOL. (Somehow I’m finding that a little hard to believe.)</p>
<p>He forwarded my deranged-helicopter-mom email on to an adcom. (Oh great.) I’ll let y’all know what I hear back.</p>
<p>jcc, if someone with a 34 ACT does not have a shot, then nobody does. This is nuts!!!</p>
<p>Considering that Laurels Scholarship amounts can be as small as $1,000, I can’t help wondering what’s the big honkin’ deal. Oh well. </p>
<p>Another school to scratch off our list, I guess. :(</p>
<p>BTW, jcc – I don’t think it would be out of line to call. Surely admissions people must know that, in this crazy economy, prospective students and their parents are understandably concerned about money for college!</p>
<p>Ok - I couldn’t stand it - I called and spoke to an admissions rep, and they indicated the lowest GPA that received a scholarship letter was a 4.2. She said test scores are only a secondary consideration. He will be devastated - this is his #1 choice, and we need significant financial aid to make it happen.</p>
<p>Good grief!!! We are home schoolers – we don’t even weight GPAs. I don’t get it.</p>
<p>Man, I am an NC resident, and I am starting to get really p*ssed at UNC-system schools.</p>
<p>Your poor son. Words fail me. I am so angry right now.</p>
<p>Thank you, LD…oddly, commiserating on here seems to help (me, not him!). I suppose it was too much to hope for that we could get enough merit aid to make an oos public affordable for us. We would basically be looking at $25k a year in cash/loans for him to attend. As I bring home under $40k a year and my husband is old and retired, this is not going to happen.</p>
<p>While I fully admit there are lots of kids with higher GPAs than my son, I believe a “lack of weighting” may be at least partially the reason my son was shut out. He has had all As or A+s in 16 honors and AP classes (and As in every other class but 3), but his school only gives .05 weighted credit if your average is above 98. Even with all his honors/APs, his weighted average is only .121 higher than his un-weighted. Sigh…</p>
<p>I did send his admission rep an email thanking him for his help over the last couple of months, and asked him if there are any merit opportunities we may have overlooked. I am not holding my breath - just stalling having to break the bad news to my son.</p>
<p>So, they penalize you if your school either doesn’t weight GPAs or weights them on a more modest scale?</p>
<p>That is just soooooo wrong! </p>
<p>Very best of luck to your son. I hope he does receive the merit money he deserves after all. He sounds like an absolutely stellar student. If UNCA does not do something to enable him to attend, it’s their loss.</p>
<p>Diane</p>
<p>P.S. I understand that Laurels Scholarships start at just $1,000. So, you must have a 4.2 GPA according to a particular weighted scale in order to qualify for the privilege of applying – just applying – for a scholarship that may be as small as $1,000?</p>
<p>Words fail me.</p>
<p>P.S. Univ of Alabama is looking better all the time, LOL!</p>
<p>I agree completely! And about Alabama, I soooooo wish he would take another look. He did apply, and got the full tuition scholarship, but thinks 6.5 hours away is too far. He is a young senior - won’t be 18 until next July, so that may be part of it. I’m not sure we could come up with the balance there either, but I’m willing to give it a shot.</p>
<p>It’s sad to watch - he applied to 8 schools and has been accepted to all that have released decisions (6), but is having to cross them off the list one-by-one as the merit offers come in too low. He is also a recruited athlete in 2 sports, but even combined with athletic money it’s still not enough. Other than Alabama, he is left with one small Christian liberal arts school and our local average directional U. Even our state flagship only gave him $2,500.</p>
<p>Thanks for the well wishes, and I’m sure everything will work out for the best. It’s hard for a 17yr old to have that kind of perspective… I’m struggling with it myself, and I know everything will be fine!</p>
<p>Good luck to your DS as well - they’ll bloom where they are planted, I’m told.</p>
<p>jcc, we are in a very similar boat! The acceptances are there, but the merit money stinks!!</p>
<p>I received a really condescending response from a UNCA admissions counselor, explaining that the process was just sooooo selective this year, and there were just soooooo many excellent students just like my son, blah-blah. (Yeah, sure, that’s why UNCA’s SAT averages are only between 550-650 – they’re beating the high scorers off with a stick! LOL!)</p>
<p>I had explained that we do NOT weight our GPA (because we home-school), and therefore we could not possibly have met the 4.2 threshold – but this was strictly a TECHNICALITY. Apparently UNCA is willing to lose National Merit Finalists on a technicality. I am frankly stunned. </p>
<p>It also seems to me that it amounts to discrimination against home-schoolers…and also against students from schools that either do not weight GPAs or else weight them on a different scale (like your son’s school). Discrimination based on a technicality!</p>
<p>And all this is not even for a scholarship. It’s for the privilege of applying for a scholarship. A scholarship that could be worth as little as a measly $1,000!</p>
<p>Lord have mercy. Must be nice to have such rarified standards at a non-flagship school.</p>
<p>OK, that was mean. But I’m not a very happy camper at the moment, LOL.</p>
<p>I totally understand why your son would hesitate to go to such a huge, far-away school as Bama. (It’s eight hours away from us. My son is 18, but he’s been home-schooled all his life, and he too may well feel overwhelmed that far from home and at such a big school.) But I understand that the Honors College is like a small school within the larger university. </p>
<p>Maybe your son and mine can room together. I hear the Bama dorms are amazing!</p>
<p>I agree, BTW–they will bloom where they’re planted!</p>
<p>No scholarship invite for my kid either. And nothing about an Honors program in the acceptance packet. Lady D and jcc, I PM’d with more information.</p>
<p>MomPhD–I PMd back expressing my total shock and disgust that your very capable daughter did not get the Laurels letter. Still cannot believe it!!</p>
<p>In my PM I forgot to include one thing: At UNCA, you have to apply separately to the Honors Program. I would never have known this, either, if I had not emailed admissions about it. The UNCA website is incredibly confusing – you have to dig to find info like this! The honors application itself is BURIED under several layers – with no links to the app from the “surface” layers. BAAAAD web usability! </p>
<p>The separate application is easy, though. All they want is a short essay detailing why the student wants to be in the Honors Program. DS simply recycled his AppState honors-app essay. </p>
<p>Here is the link to the Honors application:</p>
<p>[Application</a> | University Honors Program](<a href=“http://honors.unca.edu/application]Application”>http://honors.unca.edu/application)</p>
<p>Best wishes!!</p>
<p>If you are awarded a Laurels scholarship, you are automatically in the honor’s program. For that reason, my son did not bother to apply to honors - if he didn’t get Laurels, he couldn’t attend anyway. One less essay was fine with him!</p>